Window component having slidable panels



TAKAMICHI MAJIMA 3,534,494

WINDOW COMPONENT HAVING SLIDABLE PANELS Oct. ,20, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1968 BY UM 7741 A MIC HI MAJIMA Oct. 20, 1970 TAKAMICHI MAJIMA 3,534,494

WINDOW COMPONENT HAVING SLIDABLE PANELS 3 Sheis-Sheet 2 Filed July 1. 1968 yam/mm MAJIMA INVENTOR.

ATTo KNEYS Oct. 20, 1970 TAKAMICHI MAJIMA 3,534,494

WINDOW COMPONENT HAVING SLIDABLE PANELS Filed July 1, 1 968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 1/ 7 I K v QOOHQQOQQOQQYOQOO '000900000000000 Emma/ MAJIMA I NVBN TOR.

BY WM,

ATMkWH s United States Patent O 3,534,494 WINDOW COMPONENT HAVING SLIDABLE PANELS Takamichi Majima, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to Kawada Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan Filed July 1, 1968, Ser. No. 741,632 Int. Cl. A63l1 33/04 US. Cl. 4623 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sash for use with toy building blocks. The sash has an integral rectangular outer frame with upper and lower horizontal members and a plurality of cylindrical projections on the upper surface of the upper horizontal member adapted to be fitted into a toy building block. The lower horizontal member has a rearwardly open recess defined by a front surface covering plate depending therefrom with side pieces extending backwardly from the ends of the covering plate and adapted to engage projections on a toy building block. The frame has sills on the inside surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal members with opposed pairs of grooves therein receiving slidable panels.

The present invention relates to a sash of a synthetic resin material which can be used with a toy building set composed of numerous toy building blocks.

Toy building blocks of synthetic resin and each comprising a hollow cubic body which is open at the bottom and provided with cylindrical projections arranged symmetrically on the top surface are well-known. The cylindrical projections on this Well-known block form two parallel rows and are arranged in pairs transversely of the rows. Each four cylindrical projections which are adjacent each other in the direction of the length of the rows and adjacent each other transversely of the rows are arranged so they form a square. Inside the open bottom of the hollow block are parts which can fit between the cylindrical projections of other identical blocks to secure the blocks to each other.

The object of this invention is to provide a sash which can be easily fitted into an assembled building unit built of a number of blocks as described above.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a sash in which it is possible to open and close sliding panels.

Still another object of this invention is to simplify the production and assembling of such a sash.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be made clear by the following specification and accompanying drawings showing various embodiments of this invention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 and showing various related measurements;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sill which is employed as a holder and a guide for the sliding panels;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of other embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevation view thereof;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one corner of the outer frame;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one part of the sill thereof;

Patented Oct. 20, 1970 FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of an assembled Wall including the sash of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 shows a plan view explaining the manner of connecting the bottom of the sash and the top of a toy building block.

In FIGS. 1 to 5, there is shown a sash having a square outer frame A and its structure as an upper horizontal member 1, a lower horizontal member 2, and left and right upright members 3 and 4 all joined into a rectangular frame. A plurality of cylindrical projections 5 identical with the projections on the well-known toy building blocks project from the top surface of the upper horizontal member 1. The projections on the well-known toy building blocks are arranged in two rows, but the sash of the present invention has only one row and has at least two projections at an interval equal to an integral multiple of the space between adjacent projections of the wellknown blocks. As shown in the several embodiments, four projections are provided in a single row, and the interval between the two projections near the center of the sash is equal to the interval between adjacent projections on the blocks. On the lower part of the lower horizontal member 2 is a covering plate 6 depending from the front face of the lower frame member 2, and side pieces 7 which extend backward perpendicularly to the ends of the covering plate. The covering plate 6 and the side pieces 7 cover the projections on the next lower block in the assembly of blocks and sash. Therefore, it is slightly greater in height than the projection on the block. The height of the outer frame A, which includes the foregoing covering plate 6 and side pieces 7, is an integral multiple of the single block height, for example, five times its height.

The outer frame A, which consists of the foregoing upper and lower horizontal members 1 and 2, upright members 3 and 4, circular projections 5, covering plate 6, and side pieces 7, is molded as a single body of synthetic resin by a molding machine.

Sills 8 and 9 are provided as a holder and a guide for sliding panels and are molded separately from the foregoing outer frame A, and each has a width and length corresponding to the lower face of the upper horizontal member 1 and the upper face of the lower horizontal member 2. On the respective opposed faces of the sills are parallel grooves 10 and 11, and 10' and 11. The sills 8 and 9 are also molded of a synthetic resin product by a molding machine. The foregoing grooves 10 and 11 in the sill 8 are slightly deeper than the grooves 10' and 11 of the sill 9, as will be described later. After the sills are molded, they are, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, adhered to the opposed inner faces of the upper and lower horizontal members 1 and 2.

The two sliding panels 12 and 13 slide laterally and their widths are approximately half the inside dimension between the foregoing left and right upright members 3 and 4 of the outer frame A. Each panel has projections 14 and 15 on its top and bottom which are respectively inserted into the foregoing grooves 10 and 11 and 10' and 11. The sliding panel can be in the shape of a rectangular frame, and plate 16, which looks like a window pane and can be of a transparent or semi-transparent material, is molded with the rectangular frame in one so id body or is adhered to the panel frame.

The dimensions of the outer frame A, the sills 8 and 9, and the sliding panels 12 and 13 are shown in FIG. 4. When the dimension between the opposed faces of the sills 8 and 9 is 11 the height of the sliding panels 12 and 13, excluding the upper projection 14, is I1 the depth of the grooves 10 and 11 is h the height of the upper projection 14 on the sliding door is 11 the depth of the grooves 10 and 11' in the lower sill is I1 and the height of the lower projections 15 on the sliding panel is it the relationship of these dimensions is as follows:

If these relationships are followed, the sliding panels 12 and 13 can be held securely by inserting the upper projection 14 on the sliding panels 12 and 3 into the respective grooves 10 and 11 of the upper sill, and inserting the lower projection 15 into the grooves 10 or 11' in the lower sill. The sliding panels 12 and 13 will slide laterally and thus opening and closing can be performed.

The sash of the present invention has at least two cylindrical projections 5 projecting from the upper part of the upper horizontal member 1. The covering plate 6 depends from the front face of lower horizontal member 2, and the side pieces 7 extend backward perpendicular to the ends of the covering plate 6. Therefore, when a large number of blocks are assembled in a building unit as shown in FIG. 10, a sash can be easily mounted in an opening therein by putting the outer frame A on the lower block shown in FIG. 11, thereby covering the cylindrical projections on the lower block with the covering plate 6 and inserting the side pieces 7 between the bilateral cylindrical projections on the lower block. The cylindrical projections on the upper part of the outer frame have other blocks fitted thereover. A building unit can be assembled with an opening having a shape and size the same as that of the outer frame A and thereafter the cylindrical projections on the upper face of the frame can be inserted into the open bottom of the building blocks defining the top of the opening. The sash can then be moved into the opening by pressing the lower part of the sash toward and against the assembled building unit and the side pieces 7 will engage the cylindrical projection on the block forming the bottom of the opening and covering plate 6 will cover these projections.

In the present invention, the outer frame A and the sills 8 and 9 are molded separately, and after molding, they can be assembled into one body. Therefore, the construction of the mold for the molding machine will be simple and the efficiency during mass production Will be raised. 4

The embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 has the sill adhered to the outer frame by an adhesive agent. However, it is possible to mount them by simply fitting them to the frame A without an adhesive agent.

FIGS. 6 to 9 show such an embodiment. This embodiment differs from that of FIGS. 1 to 5 in that at the four points on the inner face of the frame A where the horizontal members 1 and 2, and upright members 3 and 4 meet there is provided in the upright members 3a and 4a a notch 17 which opens to the inside of the frame A but does not extend to the outside. The sills 8' and 9' are made longer than in the embodiment of FIGS. 15 so that they extend into the notches 17. Simultaneously, a cut-out 18 is left on the front side of both ends. These sills 8 and 9' are assembled with the frame A by sliding them into the notches 17 from the inside of the outer frame A.

The remaining features of the embodiment are identical with those of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5.

What is claimed is:

1. A sash for use with toy building blocks, comprising a rectangular outer frame having an upper and a lower horizontal member, upper and lower connecting means including at least two cylindrical projections on the upper surface of the upper horizontal member adapted to be fitted into a toy building block and a rearwardly open recess defined by a. front surface covering plate depending from the lower surface of the lower horizontal member and side pieces extending perpendicular to and backwards across said lower surface from the ends of the covering plate, said side pieces being adapted to engage projections on a toy building block, mutually opposed sills on the inside of said rectangular frame, one said sill on each of said upper and lower surfaces, each said sill having a plurality of parallel grooves on mutually opposed faces thereof, and a plurality of sliding panels, one in each pair of opposed grooves and slidable along said grooves, whereby opening and closing of the sash is made possible.

2. A sash as claimed in claim 1 in which said sills are adhered to the upper and lower members.

3. A sash as claimed in claim 1 in which said frame further has upright members joining said upper and lower members, said upright members having notches therein where they join said upper and lower members, the ends of said sills being held in said notches.

4. A sash as claimed in claim 3 wherein said notches extend from the rear side of the frame only part of the distance through the thickness of the frame.

5. A sash as claimed in claim 1, wherein the panels have upper and lower projections on the top and the bottom which are fitted in the grooves in the sills for holding and guiding said sliding panels.

6. A sash as claimed in claim 5, wherein the space between the top and bottom sills is I1 the height of the sliding panels, excluding the upper projection, is I1 the depth of the grooves in the upper sill is h the height of the upper projection on the sliding panels is I1 the depth of the grooves in the lower sill is I1 and the height of the lower projection on the sliding panels is h and said dimensions are in the relationship:

7. A sash as claimed in claim 1, wherein a central part of the area of the panels is at least semitransparent.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 478,593 7/1892 Gregg. 3,284,946 11/1966 Christiansen 46-19 FOREIGN PATENTS 625,341 3/1963 Belgium.

48,331 6/ 1966 Germany.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner 

